First and foremost, http://twitter.com. I’ve made a bunch of interesting connections in a short period of time by searching for relevant keywords and following people. I also got connected to interesting people by connecting to people recommended by the founder of http://govloop.com, a relatively new social networking site for people working in government. Thanks, Steve! By getting involved in Govloop, now I’m also going to be volunteering for the site’s blog. Not a bad way to meet even more people in the field I’m interested in, government.

I also am enjoying a really, really great job search organization site, http://jibberjobber.com. It really helps organize contacts and connections and provides a great follow-up feedback loop. I also think it’s very cool that it’s a “mashup” which includes a bunch of my other favorite sites like twitter, google, and linkedin.com.

Speaking of http://linkedin.com, I have to reiterate that this is the single most helpful tool so far for professional networking. I didn’t mention it first because it, to me, is an old standby. But it’s a vital tool that shouldn’t be overlooked, ever, especially for people who are not just job searching but trying to establish themselves in a new career.

Thanks to all the cool people who posted these links, mainly on Twitter, especially my good twitter tweeple: @ariherzog, @dfletcher, @govloop, @Philathropy, @jasonalba, @CindyRecruiter, @CareersOrg, @meshugavi, and many more.

Hi Heather,
Great blog! I’m commenting to suggest you do a post on how to effectively use linkedin.com. I have been exploring but have this nagging feeling that I could be doing so much more.
Thanks!
Brook